The multi-agency rescue and recovery operation at the site of the collapsed building in Eastleigh, Nairobi, has reached 95 per cent completion, the Interior Ministry has announced.
In a statement, the ministry said teams were continuing to clear the remaining debris as they worked to account for missing individuals following the building collapse.
The update comes after six more bodies were recovered from the rubble on Thursday, November 5, bringing the death toll to eight as the search for five missing people continued.
"The multi-agency rescue team at the Eastleigh building collapse site has completed 95% of the recovery operation, with efforts continuing to clear the remaining debris and account for every person reported missing," the ministry stated.
The ministry further disclosed that post-mortem examinations and formal identification of the recovered victims were ongoing at the Nairobi City Mortuary.
Nairobi North County Commissioner Simon Asumba earlier confirmed that the six bodies recovered on Thursday comprised four women and two men.
Four people have so far been rescued alive from the collapsed building, according to the police.
Asumba said the six bodies had been transferred to Nairobi City Mortuary, where authorities had begun procedures to identify the deceased and notify their families.
He disclosed that two families had already been informed about the first two bodies recovered from the rubble.
However, the remains had not been released to the families as authorities awaited the completion of DNA procedures to facilitate formal identification.
The commissioner said authorities were still accounting for 11 people in the latest phase of the operation before the six additional recoveries were made.
With all six now confirmed dead, five people remain unaccounted for, prompting rescue teams to continue searching through the remaining debris.
Asumba appealed to families and members of the public to remain patient as the multi-agency teams worked to conclude the recovery exercise and establish the whereabouts of everyone reported missing.
The operation has brought together several government agencies and humanitarian organisations.
Among them are the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF), National Disaster Management Unit, National Disaster Operations Centre, Nairobi City County Government and the Kenya Red Cross.
The teams have been conducting search, rescue and recovery operations at the site since the building collapsed, with efforts focused on locating survivors, retrieving bodies and clearing the debris.
The Interior Ministry's latest update indicates that the operation is nearing completion.
Authorities have yet to provide a final account of the circumstances surrounding the collapse in the latest statement.
